Ron's posts regarding a job-site dog got me to thinking. More so, since yesterday I groomed a former job-site stray. It took 2 months for this little gal to come close enough to be caught. She was being fed by some of the guys, and being chased and run off by others. This job was on an indian reservation, several miles back on dirt, and miles from any town or homes. It was summer time about two years ago.
Fortunatley my friend, and sometime co-worker felt sorry for this little wild dog, and made the effort to gain her trust. Long story short, he got himself a very nice mini poodle. She's now fat, sassy and well adjusted, but back then she lived on roadkill and job site scraps. She some how dodged coyotes, owls, hawks, and semi trucks. She somehow found water!! She had also been shot, a glancing blow to her head and jaw.
The point is, the domestic dog is a very durable species! Our grandparents kept dogs without benefit of commercial diets, OR vaccinations. There have been untold generations of dogs fed a very high grain based diet!! Do you suppose that the Japanese in the early 20th century fed their dogs meat and fish? NO, it was old rice!! The people ate mostly rice, and any bits of fish or other protein was a treasure for the family, not the dog. The dog had to catch his owns bits, mice, and bugs!!
We don't live with wolves, we live with a sub-species that has been living off human scraps since we became hunter/gatherers. They have helped us hunt, and in return they got a bone and moldy bread. They also lived by eating the mice and rats that we attract to us. A natural one on raw diet would be whole animals, not just meat and bones. Whole fruit and veggies, not pureed. Whatever we eat, they'll eat, whatever we won't eat, they'll eat too. This has gone on for generation after generation, and the dog has adapted and thrived. If your dog is thriving on what you're feeding, then stick with it!!